Half and Half Bread
All my life I made Challa bread of multipurpose white flour, so I wanted to try something different. I also made "Real" bread that would look like country bread so I bought two rising baskets, and played with flour mixes. The result was certainly satisfying.
Yet, as cool as this may look, Shabbat challah should be made of white flour, decorated with poppy or sesame seeds as tradition must be respected.
Recipe for 3 loaves
Ingredients:
450 grams of whole wheat flour
550 grams of dark bread flour (hard/rural bread/No. 3 flour)
20 grams salt
40 grams sugar
15 grams dry yeast (instant)
750 ml water
30 g canola oil (optional)
60 grams chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons flax seed (+ spoon for decoration)
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds (+ spoon for decoration)
מתכון ל- 3 כיכרות
חומרים:
450 גרם קמח חיטה מלא
550 גרם קמח לחם כהה (קמח קשה/כפרי/מס' 3)
20 גרם מלח
40 גרם סוכר
15 גרם שמרים יבשים
750 מל' מים
30 גרם שמן קנולה (לא חובה)
60 גרם אגוזי מלך קצוצים
2 כפות זרעי פשתן (+כפית לקישוט)
1 כף זרעי חמניות (+ כפית לקישוט)
preparation:
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Place flour, yeast, salt, sugar, oil and two tablespoons of flaxseed in the mixer bowl.
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Knead until dough has a good yeast net (about 6 minutes).
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Let it rise it doubles in volume (about 75 minutes).
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Punch down, and add the chopped nuts while re-kneading.
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Cut the dough in 3.
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I place two parts in the well floured rising baskets.
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Cut the third part in 6, make 6 strands and braid (see video) Place the Challah on a baking tray lined with parchment
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Brush only the challah with yolk mixed with a little water
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Sprinkle just over the Challah sunflower and flax seeds.
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Let it rise for about an hour
Baking:
Start baking at 180 degrees to browning, about half an hour in the bottom third of the oven in the upper and lower heat only.
Bread - Bake in 180 turbos while sprinkling water several times on the sides of the oven during baking - until browning about 40 minutes
I learned the technique of braiding the challah from my wonderful mother. All my sisters learned the method as well. Here is a demo of a 6-strands challah courtesy my youngest sister Ayala (Aya) Yivgy, that allowed me to use this video although it was not meant to be published. Aya is an amazing photographer, a sought-after lecturer and much more...